New Ford Fusion Hybrid Cars to Promote ‘Green’ Driving Habits
Ford is set to release its first hybrid sedan, the Ford Fusion, early next year. The fuel efficient car includes a novel ‘Smart Gauge’ dashboard designed to improve mileage and encourage greener driving habits.
Next year’s Ford Fusion (starting at $27,000) will have all the digital in-dash gauges one would expect from a gas-electric hybrid and then some. The green vine seen on the right side on the dashboard isn’t just a pretty picture reminding the driver of how they are saving the world each time they drive to the grocery store. The green vine is in fact a data-visualization tool intended to put an end to fuel wasting driving habits such as rapidly accelerating and braking.
When a driver speeds up and passes you in their sweet new Fusion hybrid and then slams on the brakes so you can read their witty bumper stickers about saving the world, that pretty green vine will start to wither and lose its leaves. When a driver accelerates gradually and maintains a reasonable speed, the green vine will grow and more leaves will appear.
I would assume that people who are environmentally conscious enough to buy a hybrid car already know how to drive in a fuel efficient manner. I feel that Ford has included this novel gauge on the car’s dashboard in an effort to boost sales after this year’s market woes rather than actually save fuel. While the ‘Smart Gauge’ might help save fuel to a small degree, companies should begin to rethink what a car can be if they are going to survive in the long run.
Source businessweek.com | Photo buisinessweek.com
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December 13th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Michael– Personally, I’m glad to see Ford adding this feature to the Focus hybrid. I’ve read a number of articles over the past few years about how providing this kind of information to drivers does change their driving habits: many even start competing with themselves to attain higher fuel efficiency, etc.
I don’t think we can assume that hybrid buyers are necessarily knowledgeable about “eco-driving” practices, or even have “green” motivations for buying them — many hybrid buyers just want those higher mpg ratings, and don’t necessarily connect their driving to better fuel efficiency. And I’d guess that in some cases, hybrid drivers believe they can drive a little less efficiently: “Hey, I’m already driving a high-efficiency vehicle, so I can afford to speed up a bit.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve had a Prius fly by me on the highway…
Not trying to beat you up (or your argument) — I just think we have to be careful about the assumptions we make concerning consumer behavior in the green space…
December 13th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I agree with you. I was just trying to incite some comments. I had the pleasure of getting a ride home from work the other day from my boss who drives a Prius. She drove 85 the entire way home making witty comments every time she passed a big suv or pick up. I was watching her MPG gauge and it was barely doing better than my Jeep!!!
December 14th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Hybrid cars do save fuel, but do it best when combined with efficient driving habits. Jeff, in the first comment, correctly points out that these two factors are not always in sync. Having an additional system that provides a visual indication of fuel savings will go a long way toward achieving the maximum benefit from hybrids.